Copyright Issues In America's Fast-Growing Mah Jongg Craze

American Mah Jongg is currently experiencing a remarkable resurgence across the United States. Once associated primarily with retirees and family gatherings, the game has found a new audience through social media, local clubs, and trendy cafés. As the game gains new enthusiasts, many are discovering that American Mah Jongg differs from traditional Mahjong in several respects, including one feature that gives rise to an interesting copyright question.

American Mah Jongg has an official annual card, specifically referred to as the Official Standard Hands and Rules. Unlike traditional Mahjong, American Mah Jongg is played using this card, which is published each year by the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL), a nonprofit organization founded in 1937 to promote standardized play. Rather than relying on a fixed set of winning patterns, American Mah Jongg uses a new annual card each year listing the official winning hands for that season. Throughout the game, players continually refer to the current annual card to determine whether a particular tile combination constitutes a winning hand. Interestingly, the official annual card is protected by copyright.

However, copyright law does not protect games or their rules. Section 102(b) of the Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 102(b)) provides that copyright protection does not extend to "any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery," regardless of how it is described or embodied. Accordingly, the rules of chess, poker, traditional Mahjong, and countless other games remain free for anyone to use.

For example, Bicycle® may own the copyright in the artwork printed on its playing cards, but it may not own the game of poker. More generally, any manufacturer may produce playing cards featuring its own original artwork because the underlying game is not protected by copyright. The same principle applies to Mah Jongg. Manufacturers may create and sell Mah Jongg sets with their own artistic tile designs and branding, but no one may own the game itself.

At first glance, the NMJL's official annual card appears to blur this well-established principle. Unlike the artwork printed on playing cards or the decorative designs on Mah Jongg tiles, the annual card is not merely an artistic or branded product. It identifies the official winning hands for that year's American Mah Jongg play and serves as the authoritative reference throughout the game. Because players rely on the card to determine which tile combinations are recognized as winning hands, the card appears to be an extension of the game's rules.

Nonetheless, the NMJL does not own the game of Mah Jongg, nor does it own the general concept of forming winning Mah Jongg hands. Rather, each year the NMJL creates and publishes a new annual card, which may be considered an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Although the annual card serves as the official gameplay reference for American Mah Jongg under NMJL rules, copyright protects the League's original expression embodied in that annual publication, e.g., the unique visual layout, typography, color schemes, and other formatting choices on the physical card, as opposed to the underlying game or its uncopyrightable rules, e.g., what constitutes winning hands in a particular year.

As such, players remain free to purchase Mah Jongg sets from any manufacturer, create their own original Mah Jongg-themed artwork, and enjoy the game itself. What they generally may not do is reproduce the NMJL's annual card by scanning, photocopying, or distributing unauthorized copies instead of obtaining an authorized copy. In other words, feel free to "steal" a winning hand from your opponent, but not the annual card!

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